


County Roads

by pepsicoughdrops



Category: Mothman (Folklore), Original Work
Genre: Monsters, Other, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:47:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24779377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pepsicoughdrops/pseuds/pepsicoughdrops
Summary: thank you to trop and mel for putting up with me all those weeks of screenshot after screenshot of updates, also this story is like a year old I just wanted to post it somewhereall characters belong to me except for teddy who belongs to my good friend mel
Kudos: 4





	County Roads

December 23, 1967

Millwood, West Virginia.

19 miles from Point Pleasant.

A young man sits in an old 1960's Studebaker pickup, the moon shining high above the old back road. The truck was silent, besides the occasional radio static and crack of sunflower seeds between teeth.

The silence was soon interrupted once coherent words broke through the radio's white noise. Glancing at the radio, the young man stopped chewing his sunflower seeds to hear what the station had to say.

Little bits and pieces of what had happened days prior could be recognized, the old bridge in Point Pleasant had collapsed. The reports said it was carrying too much weight than it was designed for, 46 people were killed during the accident.

The radio started to jump from static to reports of the bridge, the volume increasing as it did. Taking his eyes off the road the man turned his attention to the radio, trying to turn it down or shut it off.

Bringing his attention to the radio caused the man to swerve and almost plow into a ditch, but he quickly jerked up and slammed on the truck's breaks. The radio had stopped, silence fell back over the inside of the truck.

Taking a minute to recollect himself, the man looked out at the dirt road in front of him. Head lights barely illuminating a figure up ahead. Maybe it was the head lights, or the fact he had been driving for hours without rest, but this figure didn't look like your every day person.

The man rolled down his window and stuck his head out, not wanting to actually get out of the car in fear of whatever this thing was attacking him. "S'cuse me sir and or ma'am but I need to get by ya" he called out to the figure, "I-I can call ya someone to pick ya up if-" he was cut off.

The thing turned around to face the old Studebaker, it's true height now on full display in front of the truck's old lights. The man tried to scream, to say anything, but it felt like an air bubble was caught in his throat. His eyes darted frantically over the creature, one distinctive feature catching his gaze. The thing's eyes.

They were red, almost the same color as a ruby or an apple, and they were giving off a soft reddish white glow that illuminated it's face. The creature took a step forward, it's red eyes seemingly fixated on the glowing headlights.

Breaking out of the trance like state, the man jerked back into the truck and slammed his hand down on the horn. The creature stumbled back while thin, clawed hands came up from it's form and covered the sides of it's head.

Keeping his hand on the horn the man saw wing like appendages pop up from behind the creature, and before he knew it the thing was gone. The man took his hand off the horn, rolled up his window, and tore down the back road without another thought.

December 10, 2002

A small town 4 miles from Point Pleasant, West Virginia.

A young man sits in an old Dodge D series pick up, his truck parked in front of a small coffee shop. A laptop sat on the dash, it's screen light glowing softly on the man and glaring off of his glasses. The sun had just started to set which made the sky turn an array of oranges and pinks.

The man closed his laptop and unbuckled his seatbelt, wanting to get directions to the nearest hotel before it got dark. Stepping out of the car and walking into the small coffee shop, the man saw very few people scattered around the room. A woman with curly hair sat on one of the small sofas, coffee cup and phone in hands.

An older looking man sat at a table near the center of the room, he looked like he was from a different timeline. His black hair was clean cut and styled to look professional, he wore a black suit that resembled something from a 60's clothing magazine, and his eyes were covered by sunglasses that FBI people from movies wear. He certainly didn't look like he belonged in West Virginia.

"Welcome to Limelight Coffee, what can I get ya young man" an older woman said from behind the counter, a small notepad in hand.

"I just need to get some directions if that's not too much" he said, his voice drastically different from the woman's thick Appalachian accent.

"Well that depends on where ya need to go" she smiled, the smell of coffee and warm bread floating around the room.

"Just need the closest hotel, ma'am" he explained, watching as the woman walked over to a small oven and took out a tray of strawberry colored pastries.

"Yain't gonna find no hotel round here kid" the man sitting at the table said, voice low and smooth.

"Don't listen to him sweetheart" the woman behind the counter said, "we don't have no hotels but we do have a small motel just down the road from here" she explained while placing two pastries in a paper bag. She pulled a small pen from her apron pocket, "now what's your name dear?" she asked while clicking open the pen.

"It's Eddie, Eddie Hershey but ma'am you don't have to-" before he could finish a small, warm paper bag with the strawberry colored pastries was handed to him.

"It's on the house, now ya get to the motel before it gets too dark" she smiled again while placing the pen back in her pocket.

Eddie gave the woman a small smile before turning to walk out of the Limelight Coffee. Once he was out the older man looked over at the woman behind the counter, "he ain't gonna last a few hours here and ya know that" he drawled, watching as the woman crossed her arms.

"You leave that boy alone, we don't need no more accidents happenin round here" she said quietly, so the curly haired woman on the couch couldn't hear.

The room wasn't the greatest, but it was better than sleeping in his truck. Eddie sat on the twin sized motel bed, laptop in front of him, and one of the pastries hanging out of his mouth. The young man was currently typing up notes and looking through articles for a college project, something he was doing while sitting in the Limelight Coffee's parking lot earlier that day.

After a few more hours a small knock came from the motel door, causing the young man to look up from his laptop. Eddie slid off of the old bed and made his way over to the door and looked through the little peep hole. When he did he saw the curly haired woman from the coffee shop, she was holding a small paper bag in her hands.

Eddie unlocked the motel door and peeked his head out slightly, "Who are you?" he asked while looking over the woman.

She gave Eddie a smile and held out her hand, "My name's Teddy, I work down at the local ranger station and saw you at the coffee shop earlier today."

Eddie slowly took her hand and shook it, "Yeah I uh saw you too" he said while taking his hand back. "Any reason why you're at my motel room with a bag at" he paused and looked back at the clock on the far wall, "almost 2 in the morning?"

"Well I ain't ever seen you around town before and we rarely get any new people these days, so I thought I'd drop by and introduce myself" her voice was calming, very sweet.

Eddie pointed to the small bag she held, it had a picture of a tree with the outline of a sun behind it on the front, "well what's in the bag than?" he asked.

The woman smiled again, "just a little welcoming present from the station's gift shop" she said while holding it out to Eddie.

Eddie carefully took the bag from her, moving back from the door and letting it open up some more. Opening the bag, Eddie saw what looked like a ball of black fluff. Pulling the item out of the bag, the young man saw what it was. It had black fluff around the neck, two fluffy antennas, and two, large, red button eyes. "What is this? A moth?" Eddie asked while keeping his eyes on the plush.

"Yep! Since our town is so close to Point Pleasant we get a lotta folks comin in for mothman" Teddy explained, the smile never leaving her face.

"Now I know you ain't no little kid but I thought you might like to have it" she said softly, "you seem like the type of guy to be into all that cryptid stuff."

Eddie sighed and sat the plush mothman on top of the old tv in his room, "It's uh very kind of you…Teddy? Was it?" he said while looking back over at the woman.

Teddy rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah I know it's a silly gift but I'm sure you'll come around to likin it" she said. "Well I guess I better be headin home, we don't usually like stayin out at night" she said while turning her back to Eddie. Before she left she looked over her shoulder to see the young man staring at the plush, "You be careful now Hershey. We got big problems happenin round here" she said quietly before making her way back to her car.

December 11, 2002

A small town 4 miles from Point Pleasant, West Virginia.

Eddie stood outside a small apartment building, watching as men in moving uniforms carried boxes up the steps to his new living space. His eyes were heavy from lack of sleep and his back hurt from the old motel bed. The small mothman plush was tucked under his arm along with his laptop.

A large Jeep pulled into the apartment parking lot, and out stepped Teddy in her work clothes, a small smile appeared on her face when she saw Eddie.

"Well I see you actually are staying!" Eddie jumped at the sound of Teddy's voice, almost dropping his laptop and the small mothman. "Hey hey I didn't mean to scare you, sorry pal" Teddy apologized and took off her ranger hat, running a hand through her hair to fix the mess the hat had made.

"Yeah I guess I am staying" Eddie breathed out, rubbing his face with his free hand. A man walked up to Eddie and said something that Teddy couldn't hear, but she saw Eddie thank the man and place a few dollars in his hands.

"Hey if you aren't busy you can come in and I'll make some coffee since it's still early" Eddie said once the man walked away, he turned to Teddy and waited for a response.

Teddy glanced at the watch on her right arm, looking back up at Eddie, she gave him a soft smile. "I think I have a few minutes to chat, and even if I am a little late I can come up with an excuse as to why" she said as she followed Eddie to the entrance of the building.

The building was old, probably older than both Eddie and Teddy combined. The inside wasn't bad just very outdated, the wallpaper probably hadn't been changed in over 30 years.

Eddie made his way up an old, creaky staircase with Teddy following close behind. When they reached the young man's floor, they both saw a man at the end of the hall.

It was the older man from the Limelight Coffee. He was leaning up against one of the doors in the hallway, a cigarillo hanging out his mouth, smoke floating up and disappearing around his head. He was holding a small notepad in one hand, and a pen in the other. The man was scribbling words while puffing out smoke from the corner of his mouth.

The man's head snapped up from the notepad when he heard the two younger individuals step forward, another cloud of smoke puffing out from between his lips. "Well I'm surprised ya made it this long Mister Hershey" the man sneered, putting the notepad in his pocket along with the pen.

"Well uh thanks?," Eddie replied, making his way to his apartment room door, which was three doors down from the one the older man was leaning on.

The man wasn't as dressed up as he was when he was inside the Limelight Coffee. He still had his suit pants and nice shoes, but instead of his suit jacket he had on a black suit vest and a white button up underneath, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Those black glasses still sitting on his face, covering his eyes. The outfit made the two younger individuals think of an old black and white movie detective.

Eddie took out a key ring from his pocket and unlocked the apartment door, all the while feeling eyes on him. Teddy seemed to sense the uneasy feeling coming from her new friend and placed a hand on his shoulder once the door was open.

"Why don't you tell me where you came from and why you decided to move here" Teddy asked, glancing back at the older man. She saw he had taken the small notepad back out and was once again scribbling words with the pen. Before Teddy walked into Eddie's apartment she could've sworn she saw a red glare from behind the older man's glasses.

Eddie and Teddy both sat on a small sofa in the younger man's living room, both chatting and drinking coffee Eddie had made.

"At the motel" Eddie started, "you said something about mothman? You know he's not real right?" Teddy threw up one of her eyebrows at Eddie, slowly taking another sip of her coffee.

"The reason that old bridge collapsed was because it had too much weight, not because some moth creature messed with it" Eddie said again.

"Eddie I don't want you goin round actin like that, because round here lots of people believe in that creature" Teddy said while sitting her cup down, "Hell I even believe in it, my daddy always told me stories of it to scare me into comin home early."

"You're seriously telling me you believe in those types of things?" Eddie asked, probably sounding ruder than he meant.

"Everything comes from somethin Hershey, so who's to say there isn't somethin out there?" Teddy said while giving Eddie a small smirk.

"Well for one, it's scientifically impossible for mothman to be real" Eddie said, "And how can you be so sure it wasn't just a big bird at silver bridge?" he asked again.

Teddy laughed, "you really are somethin else Edmund Hershey" she said, "lots of strange things have been happenin here before I was even born."

Teddy stood up, placing her hat back on her head, "I wouldn't be so quick to judge people on what they believe or the things they believe in, Eddie" she gave the man a small smile before walking over to the door.

Eddie followed her to the door, watching from the doorway as she walked down the hall. Hundreds of thoughts ran threw his head, hopefully just because he hadn't had caffeine in a long time.

Eddie noticed the older man was still leaning up against that door. His eyes were looking straight at Eddie, or at least he thought they were, it was kinda hard to tell with the sunglasses on. "Do…Do you need something?" Eddie said after a few minutes of silence, watching as the man stood up straight and took the burned out cigarillo from his mouth.

"Ya need to listen to her words, Mister Hershey" he said, placing the cigarillo in an ashtray next to him on a small hallway table.

"What? Where you eavesdropping on us?" Eddie asked, this guy just gave him a bad feeling, even when they were at the Limelight Coffee he had a bad feeling to him.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out Eddie" the man flashed Eddie a smile, his canines a little too sharp for Eddie's comfort.

"Who even are you? You sure as hell don't look like you belong in this backwoods hick town" Eddie asked while crossing his arms.

"Now that's not a very nice way to talk to someone, is it?" The man snickered, his smile never fading. The man walked over to Eddie and stuck out a hand, "My name is Mot, Mister Hershey" he introduced himself.

Eddie hesitatintly took the older man's hand, "Mot? What kinda name is that?" Eddie sneered at the strange name.

"Why it's my name and I'd suggest ya not talk to me like that" the grip on Eddie's hand tightened, "Not very nice to make fun of someone."

Eddie pulled his hand back, albeit a little forcefully considering the grip the older man had on him. "Enjoy your first night here Mister Hershey" Mot said while turning his back to Eddie.

Eddie watched as the older man walked back over to the door he was leaning on, keeping his eyes on him while he went inside and closed the door behind him.

Going back into his own apartment, Eddie slid down the now closed door. Running his hands through his hair, he hoped moving here wasn't a mistake.

December 12, 2002

A small town 4 miles from Point Pleasant, West Virginia.

Eddie stepped out of his apartment, laptop bag slung over his shoulders. He looked a lot better than he did yesterday, sleeping better than he did at the motel.

Making his way to the old stairs, Eddie saw another person coming up them.

The young man couldn't tell if they were a boy or a girl but they were thin, very thin. Matted black hair falling over their shoulders. They wore a black wife beater tank top, old grey sweatpants, and no shoes. Their skin was very tan, as if they had been out in the sun for too long.

Eddie tried to catch a glimpse of the person's face, but their hair only let him see a little bit of the person's mouth, nose, and left eye. The young man watched as the person made their way up the rest of the steps and turn a corner down the hall. Eddie hurried down the last flight of steps, not wanting to wait and see if that person would come back.

Once outside of the Limelight Coffee the young man got out of his truck and made his way inside. It was early so there were a few more people than there was yesterday. Eddie didn't see Teddy, probably at work, and he let out a small sigh of relief when he didn't see the older man. Mot? Yeah that was his name, he was probably still at the apartment.

The older lady behind the counter smiled when she caught a glimpse of Eddie, "Well welcome back Eddie" she said, "How was your first night in our lovely little town?"

"Besides my neighbor possibly threatening me, it was pretty good" Eddie smiled back at the woman.

"Oh don't mind ol Mot he's no trouble unless he wants to be" The older woman explained while walking over to the small oven in the back.

Eddie watched as she pulled out two small trays of cinnamon rolls, waiting for her to turn around so he could ask a question.

"Now what would ya like Eddie?" she asked after setting the trays of cinnamon rolls down to cool.

"Well I was actually wondering if this place had maybe a library? Or just someone who had records of the town, just basic information" he asked, hoping the woman would have an answer.

She seemed to ponder for a minute, then it looked like a light bulb flipped on in her head. "Well we used to have a library but it burnt down when I was a little girl" she saw Eddie's happy expression falter, "But we still have records on the town so don't be givin me that look Eddie."

Eddie's smile reappeared, "Well where would I find them if you don't have a library?" he asked.

The older woman wiped her hands on her apron, "About two miles down the road is our local church, after the library burnt down we moved whatever information was safe to the church. Now when you get there ask for Father Levi, he'll take you to the filing rooms, he's not too hard to find" she explained while placing two cinnamon rolls in a small paper bag.

Eddie handed the woman the money owed once he was given the small paper bag and made his way over to the door. When people say West Virginia doesn't have a lot, they really mean it, cause there wasn't anything between the small town and the church. Just woods and the occasional stream, maybe a few old fences.

Once Eddie arrived at the church he unbuckled his seat belt and stepped out. It wasn't some huge cathedral, just a small southern bell church. It was made of brick and had a small bell tower up on the roof, a few bird's nest scattered around the top.

Walking in Eddie was hit with warmth and the smell of candles, vanilla? Maybe.

The inside was very cozy, a small altar up ahead for mass and a few rows of pews lined up one behind the other. Eddie looked around and saw a young nun lighting candles on the left side wall, "Excuse me miss do you know where Father Levi is?" the woman turned around when she heard Eddie.

"I don't think we've met young man" she said, "what do you need father for?" her shoes made small patting noises against the carpet as she walked over to Eddie.

"I just need to see the filing room, if it's not too much" Eddie explained, hoping the woman would help.

A small smile appeared on her soft face, "You wait just right here I'm sure he's in his office" she kindly explained before walking over to an old oak door. Eddie watched as she peeked inside and said something which he couldn't quite understand.

About a minute later a man stepped out beside the young nun, he had a small smile one his face. He wore ordinary priest clothes, black shirt with white square, the real deal. His hair was clean cut and black with some grey around the roots. Overall he looked like a nice man, hopefully he was. "Sister said you wanted to see the filing room" Father Levi said, "may I ask why?" the priest asked once he walked up to Eddie.

"Well I'm sure you can tell I'm not from here, Father" Eddie explained, "just wanted to see what this little town was about since I've never really heard of it before" he said while looking at the priest.

Father Levi gave a quiet laugh, "Well I'm glad you're interested in our small town but I have to warn you" he started, "there's only a few files left since most were burnt in that fire way back."

Eddie watched as Father Levi walked back into his office and came back around five minutes later holding two orange folders, both of them looked very old and faded.

"This is all we got" the priest explained, "I'd like to have these back sometime this week of that's alright with you."

The younger man was very careful when Father Levi handed him the old files, giving him and the nun a smile and thank you before walking out to his truck. Pulling into his apartment parking lot, Eddie noticed the front door was wide open. Now this wouldn't be strange if it was warm out, but it was in the middle of December and people usually didn't just leave their door wide open for freezing cold to get in.

Pushing the bad feeling out of his gut, Eddie made his way out of his truck and into the building. The young man got to the steps and started to make his way up to his floor, skipping a few steps to get there faster.

Once he got to his hallway the place was trashed, the carpet ripped and the wall paper too. The small table with the ash tray was knocked over which caused the ashes and burned out cigarettes to spill all over that area of the carpet.

When Eddie walked closer to his door his stomach dropped when he saw that it was wide open. Not only was it wide open, the old apartment door was barely hanging on to it's hinges.

Dropping his laptop bag and rushing inside, Eddie saw his living room was trashed and the door to his bedroom was in the same condition as the front door.

Panic filled the young man when he saw blood leading over to the small kitchen.

Eddie suddenly heard coughing from the kitchen, his whole body tensing and hoping whatever did this didn't hear him run in.

Quietly making his way over to the kitchen doorway, making sure not to slip on the blood, he saw a familiar figure hunched over the sink.

Mot was standing over the sink, clothes tattered and just in general not looking the best. Eddie saw one of his hands was over his eyes and another was clutching at his stomach. Red seeped from where Mot's hand was over his stomach, covering his hand and dripping onto the kitchen floor.

"Mot?" Eddie asked quietly, watching as the man jumped at the sound of his voice, "What the hell happened?" the young man took a step towards the sink.

"Long story Mister Hershey, long story" Mot drawled, his words slurring as more blood seeped from the wound under his hand.

The older man tried to step forward, the hand covering his stomach shooting out and grabbing onto the counter when he almost fell over.

Eddie quickly made his way over when he saw more blood seep out once Mot had taken pressure off the wound. "Mot who the hell did this?" Eddie asked while helping the older man stay up right, panic clear as day in his voice. Eddie noticed he didn't have his sunglasses on, but soon saw they were laying a few feet away. They were snapped in half, both the lenses cracked and scratched.

The younger man made Mot sit down at the kitchen table, doing his best to make sure he didn't pass out or possibly die.

Looking at the tear across Mot's stomach Eddie audibly gagged, it looked like an animal had attacked him. But how the hell could an animal capable of this get into the apartment?

"Mot hey listen to me" Eddie explained while leaning down in front of the older man, "we need to get you to a hospi-" Eddie was cut off.

"No!" Mot exclaimed, "No hospitals! Not steppin foot in one of those places!" he sounded drunk, his words even more slurred as he gripped harder at his stomach.

"Mot you're going to bleed out in my kitchen if we don't!" Eddie said, trying to keep as quiet as possible, "so unless you know how to sew up a wound I suggest we go to the hospital!"

"Teddy." Mot coughed out, blood now coming from his mouth.

"What? What does Teddy have to do with this?" Eddie asked while taking his phone out from his pocket to call 911.

"She's a ranger ya dumbass, medical practice" Mot snapped, doing his best to stay calm. A lightbulb went off in Eddie's mind, of course Teddy would have some sort of medical training.

God Eddie was stupid sometimes.

Eddie dialed up the ranger station and waited for an answer.

One ring, two rings, three rings.

"Ranger Teddy, how may I help you?" Teddy's voice rang through the kitchen, Eddie having set the phone on speaker mode.

"H-hey Teddy um we've got a problem" Eddie's voice was shaking, popping his fingers and knuckles to keep calm.

"Well what's wrong Hershey? Ya sound scared" Teddy asked, worry suddenly filling her tone.

"Can you just come over? Please?" Eddie asked, "Can you bring a medical pack and a pair of sunglasses? I promise I'll explain everything when you get here" he said.

"Eddie who's hurt? Why do you need sun-" Eddie hung up the phone before she could finish, rubbing his hands over his face.

"God this is bad this is very bad" he stated while walking back in forth across the kitchen floor, making sure to step over the blood puddle by the sink.

"Hershey stop walkin back n forth" Mot suddenly mumbled, "I can hear every click clack of your damn shoes and it ain't a nice noise."

Eddie stopped and sat criss cross on a clean patch of the kitchen floor, still popping his fingers and knuckles.

Teddy arrived almost 30 minutes later, her footsteps being heard in the hallway and in the living room. Eddie stood in the kitchen doorway, arms crossed and face full of worry.

"What the hell happened?" Teddy stammered, out of breathe from running up the stairs and down the hall.

"Long story just please tell me you know how to sew an open wound" Eddie responded while placing both hands and Teddy's shoulders.

"Of course I know how to sew an open wound it's just basic medical training, Hershey"

"Good great because Mot, the weird suit guy, is currently bleeding out in my kitchen" Eddie explained, still keeping his hands on Teddy's shoulders.

Before Teddy could ask another question Eddie was already walking back into the kitchen, she sighed and quickly followed behind.

Once she was in she assessed the scene before her. Currently there was blood all over the floor, a pair of black sunglasses lay cracked in the corner, and Mot sat at the kitchen table barely breathing.

So not a very good situation.

"What happened Eddie" Teddy's voice was deadpan, "and don't try to lie and say you don't know" she said again, sitting a small red medic box on the table.

"That's the thing, I don't know!" Eddie exclaimed, "I wasn't here I was at some church and I come to home to my place trashed and he's half dead in my kitchen!" his tone was upset, not really knowing what would happen.

Teddy sighed again and made her way in front of Mot, scooting the medical box along the table. "Mot, was it? I need you to move your hand so I can see the wound" her voice was soft, trying to stay calm in this predicament.

Mot mumbled something incoherent and moved his hand off his stomach, the other one still over his eyes.

It was bad, bad enough to be almost unfixable without professional help. The wound was around five inches long and started on Mot's right side, the fabric around that area was torn to shreds.

Teddy ran a hand through her hair and did a look over of the wound a couple more times before reaching for the medical box. "I'm guessin you don't have anything to numb skin, do you?" Teddy asked while looking over at Eddie.

"No I don't" Eddie said while recrossing his arms, "but he looks out of it enough for you to be able to do it without that, right?"

"Eddie you can't be serious?" Teddy asked, "You're really suggestin I sew up an open wound without numbin agency?"

Eddie shrugged his shoulders, "It's the only option we got since we can't really run to the store and he already rejected the hospital idea."

"I'd like t'not die in an apartment kitchen please" Mot choked out, still sounding drunk from blood loss.

"Shit right sorry bout that" Teddy turned her attention back to the wound and medical box and started to take out everything she needed.

Once Teddy had everything out she began to try and fix the tear on Mot's stomach, flushing the area, threading the surgical needle, all that.

In the middle of this process Teddy saw Mot had balled up his free hand and currently had it pressed firm against the table. She also noticed the hand covering his eyes was gripping tighter at his face. "Sorry bout all this" Teddy apologized softly, cleaning up the remaining blood on his side the best she could after she finished.

Teddy stood up and turned around to face Eddie, who was currently leaning up against the kitchen counter. "He'll uh…he'll live, hopefully" Teddy mumbled the last part so only Eddie could hear. "Hey you wouldn't happen to have any pajamas he could wear?" Teddy asked the younger man, "cause I'm gonna have to bandage him up and his clothes don't really need to be in the way" she watched as Eddie rubbed his face and nodded slowly.

"Yeah yeah I'll…I'll see if I can find something" Eddie explained and walked out of the kitchen to his bedroom.

Eddie came back around 15 minutes later carrying what looked like an old college sweatshirt and some sweatpants.

Mot was still sitting at the table, bandages wrapped around his abdomen. His tattered vest and white button up lay in a pile on the kitchen table.

Teddy was currently washing her hands, making sure not to step in the blood puddle.

"My room's in the same condition as the living room" Eddie said, laying the pajamas on the table "but I managed to find some old pajamas in the mess of it all."

Teddy gave the younger man a quiet thank you while she dried off her hands.

"Probably not the best time but" Eddie started, "did you bring sunglasses?"

"I mean yeah but I don't know why I had to" Teddy said, patting her pant pocket where the glasses were.

"Well he won't take his hand off his face and his old ones are cracked" Eddie quietly explained while motioning over to Mot, watching as his chest rose and fell with his breathing.

Teddy pulled out a pair of cheap looking opaque sunglasses from her pocket, "They ain't the best but it's all I could get the quickest" she explained.

"Out" Mot suddenly wheezed, causing both younger individuals to look over at him.

"Wha-" Eddie was cut off.

"Out. I'm not takin my hand off my face, and I sure as hell ain't takin off my pants with you two in here" Mot explained, his words were still slurred but not as bad as they were before. "Just hand me the glasses and scoot" Mot said while holding out his hand the best he could, waiting for Teddy to give him the sunglasses.

Teddy didn't want to argue so she silently handed over the glasses, stepping over to Eddie once she did.

Both younger individuals made their way into the trashed living room, sitting on the couch and waiting for the older man.

Mot stumbled into the living room a couple minutes later, grabbing onto the doorway so he wouldn't fall. He had on the cheap sunglasses, some sweatpants, and one of Eddie's old college sweatshirts. He did his best to get over to one of the chairs that hadn't been turned over and sat down, Eddie and Teddy watching his every move.

"So" Eddie broke the silence, "You wanna tell us what the hell happened?" he asked while motioning to his trashed living room. Mot groaned and put his face in his hands, causing his glasses to go on top of his head.

"I really would love to tell y'all what happened" Mot's voice was muffled by his hands, "but I can't."

"Mot what does that mean? Why can't you tell us?" Eddie asked while getting up off the couch. His tone was upset, almost angry.

"I can't tell ya" Mot said again, "yet. I can not tell you two yet."

Eddie looked over at Teddy, about to try and get her to talk to Mot, when he saw that she looked scared. She was looking at a particular spot on the wall where Eddie's tv had been knocked off.

The spot had a few smears of blood on it, presumably Mot's, and around 5 huge claw marks carved into it. "Holy shit" Eddie mumbled, having not seen that when he walked in.

"You two ain't gonna be able to stay here tonight" Mot explained, "it's not safe."

Teddy suddenly stood up from her spot on the couch. Making her way over to the wall, her hand was shaking as she touched the claw marks.

"Teddy?" The younger man asked quietly, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder. Teddy looked back at her friend, hand still on the wall. Eddie saw the woman's eyes had tears in them, they were threatening to spill over. She looked horrified, as if she knew something Eddie didn't.

Teddy was about to say something before a noise came from the bedroom, a shuffling noise. Eddie's grip on Teddy's shoulder tightened, watching as the young woman sucked in a breath of air. Mot's body was tense, even with the sunglasses on both younger individuals could tell he was scared.

Eddie and Teddy watched as something slinked out from the bedroom, the thing crawling on all fours. It's body was malnourished and contorted as it came from the trashed bedroom. The smell of rotting meat and blood filled the room as the thing got closer to the two younger individuals.

The creature stood up on it's haunches about a foot away from the two young adults, it's body had small scratches, bruises, and a few bites scattered all over.

Eddie could feel Teddy shaking as they watched the creature sniff at the air.

Looking closer, Teddy could see the things eyes were damaged, claw marks all around and over them. The thing had been blinded by whatever it fought in the apartment.

The thing suddenly snapped it's head over to were Mot sat, probably smelling the blood from his wound.

Mot kept his eyes on the apartment's front door as the creature crawled over to the chair he sat in.

The thing placed it's boney and clawed hands on each arm rest of the chair, putting it's face a couple inches away from Mot's. The older man's breathing had stopped, both his hands balled into fists. The creature had blood dripping from the scratches on it's eyes, the blood on it's claws staining the arm rests.

It sniffed at Mot's face a few times before letting out a horrible scream, sounding like something between a mountain lion and a human.

Teddy suddenly stomped her foot on the hardwood floor, causing a loud banging noise. Her face filled with instant regret as the thing jerked it's head over to the noise, letting out another awful scream.

Eddie took hold of Teddy's wrist as the thing quickly crawled at them, all the while it let out more and more screams. The creature missed grabbing at the woman by a few inches, claws barely scratching her pants as Eddie yanked her towards the door.

The thing's body hit the wall and stood still for a second before shaking off the impact, quickly darting after the two young adults.

Mot leaned over one side of the chair and picked up a textbook that had been knocked on the floor from earlier. Picking it up off the floor, Mot chucked the book at the doorway where the creature stood.

The thing's head, once again, jerked back to looked at Mot.

The chair was suddenly pushed up against the wall next to the bedroom door, the thing now on top of the older man.

Mot held up his arms in front of his face and neck when the creature started to bite at him, it's needle like teeth sinking into his arms each time. The older man could barely see over the creatures back, catching a glimpse of Eddie and Teddy standing in the doorway. Both of them looked like two children who had just had a nightmare, coming to see if they could sleep in their parent's bed.

"Would you two just fuckin go already!" Mot yelled at the two, still holding his arms up at the creature. Mot watched as Eddie took hold of Teddy's wrist again and started to pull her down the hallway, even with her yelling protests to not leave and to help.

The thing seemed to sense Mot was distracted and sunk it's long claw like fingernails into his side, thankfully the one without stitches. One of Mot's hands moved away from his face, going down to grab at the things boney wrist to keep it from digging deeper into his side.

Eddie was now pulling Teddy into the parking lot towards his truck. Teddy had pulled her phone out of her pocket and was currently dialing 911, all the while Eddie was fumbling to get the doors unlocked.

Once in the truck and off the phone with the 911 operator, they drove. Eddie didn't know where they were going, all he knew was to get as far away from the apartment as possible. Teddy was shaking and rubbing her arms, tears still threatening to spill from her eyes.

Around 30 minutes later the pair pulled up into a motel parking lot, the same one Eddie had stayed at when he arrived in this little town.

"I'm…I'm gonna go see if I can get us a room" Eddie said softly, refusing to look at Teddy.

He got out of the truck and made his way inside the front office, seeing a younger looking lady behind the counter.

"Welcome to Motel Red how may we help you?" She asked, not looking up from the magazine she was holding.

"I just need a room with two beds, please" Eddie explained, voice wavering as a lump formed in his throat. The young man was tossed a pair of keys, barely catching them from how bad his hands were shaking.

Eddie mumbled a small thank you before walking back out to the truck, waving for Teddy to come out so they could get to their room.

Teddy quickly hurried out of the truck and over to Eddie, her body still shaking from the previous events at the apartment.

Eventually they both made it to their motel door, Eddie still shaking as he unlocked it. The younger man let Teddy inside first before quickly following and closing the door.

Once the door closed the room was silent, no one said a word. The only sound was an occasional bird song from outside, far away and in the woods.

Eddie slid down the closed door, putting his head in his hands. Teddy sat, almost collapsed really, on the her knees near Eddie.

The tears finally spilled as hiccuping sobs racked through the young woman's body, letting each one hit the carpeted floor.

"It…it was there the whole time" Eddie said after a few minutes of silence, his voice wavering as realization kicked in.

"What?" Teddy asked, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

"It was in the bedroom the whole time" Eddie explained again, "God Teddy I probably got close to it when I was looking for pajamas!" realization was kicking in hard now.

"Mot" Teddy said, a small gasp of air leaving her mouth. "We-we have to go back" the young woman said frantically while stumbling to get up off the floor. "Eddie we-we have to help him!"

Eddie took hold of Teddy's arms once she got close enough, "Teddy if we go back there we are going to die! Did you not see that thing!" Teddy did her best to hit at the young man, her body was weak and tired from running and crying.

Eventually the pair ended up back on the floor, both holding onto each other like scared kids.

"You called 911, the police are surely there by now" Eddie explained softly, "We'll go there in the morning and see what we can find out."

Teddy gave a small nod, her tears staining the shoulder part of Eddie's shirt. Her eyes looked out the motel window, a few trees could be seen and every so often a bird or two would fly by.

They would go to the apartment in the morning, hopefully everything would be ok.

December 13, 2002

A small town 4 miles from Point Pleasant, West Virginia.

Teddy was the first of the pair to wake up, the rising sun barely shining through the motel curtains. She sat up and noticed both her and Eddie were still on the floor, they must have passed out from crying too much.

Eddie was laying on his stomach, head resting on his arms so it wouldn't be on the hard floor. Teddy stretched once she got up off the floor, her back popping as she did.

She soon crouched down and placed a hand on Eddie's back, gently shaking him to wake him up.

"Eddie, bud, we gotta go back to the apartment" she whispered while watching the young man stir in his sleep.  
Eddie turned over on his back, eyes half open and glasses crooked. The glasses had left indents on the bridge of his nose and on the sides of his head, but he probably couldn't feel it.

Eddie yawned and stretched while laying down, looking up at Teddy with a sleepy glaze over his eyes. Teddy stepped back as Eddie sat up and rubbed at his eyes, soon the young man got up off the floor and stretched again.

The pair made their way down the motel steps and over to Eddie's truck once they had gotten ready.

Teddy looked nervous, hoping the older man was ok.

They drove in silence, the sun rising higher in the sky with every second. "Do…do you think he's alive?" Teddy asked quietly once they pulled into the parking lot, the apartment was surrounded by police and bright yellow caution tape was formed around the front entrance.

"In all honesty, I highly doubt that thing let him live" Eddie replied, unbuckling his seatbelt and stepping out along with Teddy.

A man in a sheriff uniform walked up to the two when they got close to the caution tape, a radio in his left hand. "S'cuse me y'all, I'm gonna have to ask ya to head back to your vehicle" he explained, "we've got this under con-" he was cut off by Teddy.

"Did-did you find any bodies?" She asked, her eyes darting around the entrance trying to see inside.

"My partner here was the one who called you guys, we're just worried for a…friend" Eddie explained before the sheriff could say something.

The sheriff took off his hat and held it in his other hand, "Ma'am we didn't find any bodies but we have people lookin for whatever did this" he said calmly.

Teddy's eyes started to brim with tears again, but she quickly wiped them away.

"We're gonna do everything we can to find whatever did this so don't worry" the sheriff said, "and we'll keep an eye out for your friend."

Eddie gave a small nod towards the sheriff, as a way to say 'thanks we understand'.

When the older man walked away Eddie turned to look back over at Teddy, who was currently looking over at the woods behind the apartment. "Teddy? You ok?" Eddie asked quietly, following Teddy's eyes to a patch near the some old bushes.

Eddie had to squint to see what the young woman was looking at, once he saw it his stomach churned and his heart formed a lump in his throat.

Splattered around the underside of the bushes was a trail of coppery liquid, it look like it lead further into the forest.

Before Eddie could ask anything else, Teddy was already speed walking to the edge of the forest. "Teddy! What are you doing!" Eddie quietly yelled, sounding like a mother scolding her child for something they had done wrong. "We can't just go running in the woods after the thing!" Eddie said once he caught up with the woman, Teddy never took her eyes off of the forest's edge.

They soon both came to a stop right in front of the coppery trail, looking ahead all one could see for miles was large trees and bushes scattered here and there.

Teddy sucked in a breath and crossed the threshold, closing her eyes and expecting to be ripped to shreds the moment she stepped on the forest floor.

But nothing came, no pain or screaming.

She turned back and looked at Eddie, holding out a hand for him to step over so they could get going. The two began to walk, following the trail of blood on the snow covered grass.

The trail started to get smaller and smaller until it just stopped, it had stopped about five miles into the woods. Eddie crouched down, the snow crunching under his weight.

"This doesn't make any sense" he mumbled, "Teddy do you see anything?" Teddy didn't answer.

"Teddy talk to me" Eddie said again while looking up at the woman, she looked scared. The same expression she had on at the apartment was plastered on her face.

Eddie stood back up and looked out to where Teddy's eyes were fixated on.

In the clearing stood a figure, it's height could easily tower over both Teddy and Eddie. It was covered in what looked like black feathery down all over it's body. Two wing like appendages lay folded on it's back, it's body moving as it breathed harshly.

At the creature's feet lay the thing from the apartment, it's neck was twisted at an abnormal angle and it's stomach had been ripped open. The white snow under it had been stained red.

As quickly as the giant creature had been spotted, it was gone.

In it's place stood an older looking man, short black hair disheveled, gashes covering his arms and sides, and a cracked pair of cheap looking sunglasses were in his hands.

In the creature's place stood Mot.

Teddy was the first to take a step forward, the snow crunching under her boots.

The noise caused Mot to snap his head over to the direction of Teddy and Eddie, blood dripped from his mouth and nose.

Teddy stopped in her tracks when she saw the man's eyes, they weren't your everyday run of the mill human eyes. They were red, no whites or irises, and even with them being only one color they looked scared.

Eddie stepped forward so he was standing next to Teddy, having the same terrified expression as the younger woman.

Mot dropped the cracked sunglasses near the other creatures body, "Burn it" he mumbled just loud enough for the other two to hear.

"Wha-" Teddy's question was cut off.

"Burn it! Unless you want others comin I suggest you burn it!" Mot snapped, turning his full attention to the two young adults.

Mot took a few staggered steps towards the two so he was in front of both, he looked even worse up close. "Y'all tell anyone what you saw here right now" Mot started before pointing back to the dead creature, "and you're gonna end up just like that bastard right there."

Mot pushed past the two, stumbling his way out of the clearing.

"Mot what the fuck!" Eddie yelled while turning to go after the man, "You can't just expect us to be ok with what we just saw!"

Teddy was still, her eyes locked on the dead creature. Eddie and Mot's arguing being drowned out by her racing thoughts.

It couldn't be one of those things, could it? No she hadn't seen one in years, it couldn't be one.

"We ain't talkin about this right now Eddie Hershey and that's it!" Teddy was suddenly snapped back into reality with Mot yelling, her whole body jerking around to the two men.

Mot looked pissed and so did Eddie, which in this current situation was understandable.

"Fine" Eddie said, purposely hitting Mot with his shoulder when he pushed past him. Teddy walked next to Mot as they followed a few feet behind Eddie, none of them saying a word to each other.

Once back at the truck Eddie got in the driver's seat, Teddy in the passenger's, and Mot in the back.

Teddy looked over at Eddie, about ask him something, but deciding not to when she saw a red hand print across his cheek.

They drove back to the motel in silence, the tension thick in the air.

Once they were back at the hotel they all got out and headed to the room, Mot doing his best to get up the steps.

Eddie slammed the door behind them, still upset with this predicament.

"Now are you gonna tell us what the fuck that was" Eddie asked, trying to stay as calm as possible considering the walls of this place weren't the thickest.

"First of all don't fuckin swear at me" Mot started while sitting at the foot of one of the beds, "second of all a 'thank you' would be nice considering I just saved you two from bein dog food."

Now that they were in a better lighting and area the pair could really see how messed up the older man was.

The sweatshirt was ripped to shreds, his torso, arms, and sides were covered in blood and gashes from, presumably, that thing. He still had blood dripping from his mouth and nose, it had slowed but it was still present.

"Mot please just tell us what we saw" Teddy said quietly, watching as Mot slipped off the blood soaked sweatshirt and discard it on the floor.

"Well you saw the thing that attacked you two" Mot started, "and you saw…me" he sounded hesitatint to say the last part.

"Yeah we get that we saw the thing that almost killed us but why'd you look like some big mo-" Eddie's sentence was cut off.

"A moth" Teddy mumbled, Mot could see a lightbulb go off above the young woman's head.

"You're the mothman" Teddy's voice was in disbelief, "You are the mothman" she said again.

Mot gave a small worried smile to the woman, that part had gone better than expected.

"Eddie I told you!" Teddy said, she sounded like an excited child who had gotten something they had always wanted for Christmas.

Eddie looked shocked, never in a million years did he think that mothman, Point Pleasant's famous cryptid, was actually real.

"Ok we'll come back to that later" Eddie said, "now what the hell was the thing that attacked us?" the room fell silent.

Mot cleared his throat after a few minutes, "That is what you call a mimic" he said "and that is the only time I am ever gonna say that name again, we're already in enough shit as it is."

Teddy's face went from one of pure joy to one of fear, hearing that name sent a shiver up the young woman's spine.

"The more you fixate on those nasty things the more they get attached to you" Mot explained as calmly as he could, looking over the various wounds that riddled his body. "Eventually they find you and usually that's the end of the line" he said, "sometimes you can get away but most people don't."

Teddy looked like she was about to cry while Eddie just looked more shocked than before.

"We'll go back to burn that thing tommorow, it's too late now" Mot explained while looking over to the motel window, the sky turning orange and pink as the sun started to go down.

"What…what if it's gone?" Teddy asked, voice wavering.

"The thing's guts are out of it's body and it's neck probably snapped in more than one place" Mot chuckled softly, "it ain't goin nowhere."

"Mot that's not what I mean" Teddy says, "what if…others come and find it?" she asked.

Silence fell over the room again, they didn't really have anything to burn it and they couldn't go back in the dark.

Mot sighed and placed his head in his hands, "We'll go back tomorrow and if it's gone it's gone" he mumbled into his hands.

"What if others find us?" Eddie asked, watching as the older man stood up from the bed and make his way over to the small motel bathroom.

"They probably already know where we are Hershey" Mot replied while cleaning the blood off his arms and torso with a wet rag, "them things don't stop until they've found what their lookin for."

Mot eventually got bandaged up, having found a small medical kit in the medicine cabinet mirror.

Teddy was laying in the bed on the right side of the room, Eddie on the left. Mot sat in an arm chair near the window, watching as bugs flew and bumped into the window.

Every so often a moth would bump into one of the overhang lights, or one would land on the window to rest.

Mot being mostly nocturnal had it's perks, but everything has to sleep eventually.

December 13, 2002

2:12AM

A small town 4 miles from Point Pleasant, West Virginia.

Teddy didn't know where she was, it seemed somewhat familiar. She could feel grass under her hands, the dew drops wetting her skin. She could hear someone next to her but she couldn't tell who, their face was blurry and their voice jumbled. It sounded male, sounded very familiar.

Teddy could barely make out her name in the jumbled mess of words, the sound of it getting closer and more familiar as time went on in her little unfamiliar yet familiar world.

One of her hands reached up from the dew covered grass and touched the mysterious individual. Her hand immediately went through whatever this person was, the sound of her name was clear as day now.

The person placed a hand on her shoulder, their hand was cold but still very familiar. They kept saying her name over and over, now beginning to gently shake the young woman by the shoulder.

Darkness began to surround the two individuals, eventually Teddy could only hear her name and feel the hand on her shoulder.

Then she woke up.

Teddy stirred awake to the feeling of someone gently shaking her and the feeling of a hand gripping at her shoulder.

The young woman almost jumped out of her skin when she opened her eyes to see a pair of glowing red circles staring back at her.

The memories of everything that had happened in the past few days came flooding back quickly, soon realizing it was just Mot by her bedside.

"Get your ass up" Mot said quietly, voice panicked "we gotta go."

Teddy sat up and rubbed her eyes, listening to Mot mumble as he walked back and forth in the room. She couldn't hear most of it but she heard 'Silver bridge' and 'you ain't gonna be able to save em' in her haze of sleep.

"Mot? Why are you up so late?" Teddy heard Eddie slur, he had propped himself up on his elbow and was currently reaching over to get his glasses off the bedside table.

"I'll explain it when we get to the truck" Mot started, still pacing back and forth "but right now we can't stay here."

Eddie was the first of the pair to actually get up off the bed, stretching and yawning once he had stood up all the way.

Teddy moved so she was sitting on the edge of her bed, rubbing her face and eyes to remove the numb, sleepy feeling from her body.

Mot had stopped pacing and was now standing impatiently by the door, watching as the two younger individuals walked around the room in a haze of sleep and confusion.

Once everyone was ready the trio started to make their way to the motel steps, the moon light illuminating the walkway and parking lot.

The outside was cold, wind blowing up small snow flurries around the group. They had barely gotten close to the steps before a scratching noise was heard behind them.

"Just keep walking and whatever you do don't turn around" Mot mumbled from his place between the two young adults, pushing them forward some so they would walk faster.

Whatever was behind the group had started to make a type of clicking noise, the scratching increasing in volume as well.

Halfway down the steps Teddy let her curiosity get the best of her, she quickly glanced over her shoulder at the thing behind them.

Her whole body froze in place when she locked eyes with the thing, bad memory upon bad memory flooding her mind.

The thing was female, or at least looked female. She sat like a dog, her body hunched over as she kept her eyes locked on Teddy and the others. Matted, greasy black hair fell over her shoulders and dirt covered face.

"Teddy? Teddy we have to go" Teddy felt someone pull at her arm but she couldn't tell who it was, she felt bile rising in her throat when the other woman licked her chapped lips.

The thing opened her mouth, trying to say something, her lips moving as if words were coming out.

Teddy felt the tug on her arm get harder and harder but her body wouldn't budge, the thing finally spoke.

"Teddy…genius"

Her voice was awful. It sounded like someone scraping sandpaper across a chalkboard.

"Teddy! We have to go!" The young woman's body finally moved as she was pulled down the stairs, her eyes still locked on the other woman as the thing began crawling down the walkway.

Teddy was pushed into the passenger seat, not even noticing that Mot had gotten into the driver's seat and Eddie had been pushed into the back seat.

All Teddy could focus on was how the thing was now leaning over the railing of the walkway above the truck, thick saliva dripping from her open mouth. Clawed hands gripped at the old railing before the thing let out a shrill scream, almost like a warning siren.

Her scream was met with a response, somewhere from the woods surrounding the motel another scream was heard.

Teddy watched as the motel started to get smaller as the truck backed out of the parking lot, almost hitting the mailbox from how fast Mot had pulled them out.

The creature jumped down from the walkway and started to run behind the truck, saliva still dripping from her mouth.

Eddie made sure to keep an eye on the thing as they drove down an old back road in the woods, keeping his back pressed up against Teddy's seat so he could watch through the back windshield.

Teddy turned her head to look out her window, seeing something moving through the bushes as everything went by the truck in a blur.

Mot's eyes glanced up at the truck's rear view mirror, hands gripping tighter at the wheel when he saw the creature had gotten closer to the truck. "Shit" he mumbled under his breathe before pressing down harder on the gas peddle, hoping if they just kept going the thing would get too tired to run anymore.

"Do you two trust me?" Mot suddenly asked, voice the same panicked tone like when they were in the motel.

"Not really! No!" Eddie yelled from the backseat, his body pressing up against Teddy's seat harder as the thing caught up with the truck again.

"Good enough for me" Mot said under his breath before jerking the steering wheel to the side, this caused the truck to veer into a ditch and swerve through thick woods on the road side.

Teddy had gripped onto the truck door, Eddie gripped on to her seat. Both the younger adults screamed as the truck drove through the woods, barely able to dodge the trees around it.

Eventually the truck came to a quick stop, Mot having slammed on the break.

Mot held his arm out in front of Teddy when she jerked forward, keeping her from bashing her head against the glove compartment.

Eddie's glasses had fallen off his face and were now laying in the floorboard, his hands almost tearing into the passenger's seat from how hard he was gripping it.

"Mot what the fuck!" Eddie yelled after collecting himself, his hand gripping at his chest now, feeling his heart beat rapidly in his chest. "You almost killed us! Do you realize that!" Eddie yelled again, his other hand still gripping onto Teddy's seat.

"Oh shut up Hershey!" Mot yelled back, arm still out in front of Teddy "this is better than us being ripped to shreds in a dingy motel parkin lot!"

"Shut up!" Teddy suddenly yelled, "both of you just shut it!" her voice was cracking, on the verge of tears. "Mot…how'd you know we weren't safe?" Teddy choked out, a few stray tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Teddy we really don't have time we need to g-"

Teddy cut him off.

"We are not leavin this damn vehicle till you tell us how you knew."

Mot stayed quiet for a moment, either shocked at Teddy's harsh tone or trying to listen to see if one of those things was near by.

"It's hard to explain" Mot said quietly, "anytime something bad is going to happen I get a really bad feeling and then it's just a game of hot and cold."

"Did you feel it when Silver Bridge happened?" Eddie asked quietly from his place in the back seat.

"Yes" Mot explained, "unfortunately I didn't find out what the bad feeling was until it was too late and well, you two know the rest."

Mot tried to start up the truck again, the vehicle sputtered and then nothing.

Batteries dead and the trio was now stuck in monster infested woods.

"Hope you two like walkin" Mot said before unbuckling his seatbelt and quietly stepping out of the truck.

"You…you can't be serious, right?" Teddy asked, "those things are still out there!" she whisper yelled to the older man.

Mot shrugged his shoulders and stood in front of the truck, waiting and keeping watch.

Eddie and Teddy shared a worried glance before quietly stepping out of the truck, hurrying to stand by the older man.

"You still got that bad feeling?" Eddie asked quietly while they walked through the snowy woods.

Mot kept his eyes forward, the soft reddish white glow illuminating the snow patches in front of the group, "It's not bad but it's still there."

A few hours into the walk a scream was heard from far away, not animal or human. Mot suddenly pushed the two younger individuals into a patch of bushes, hidden away from the outside forest.

"Mot please tell us that was just a wild animal" Eddie whispered, voice shaking.

"Can't promise anything" Mot said as he sat with the two younger individuals in the bushes, carefully listening for another scream.

The trio sat in silence for a few more minutes before another scream was heard, this one sounded closer than before. Teddy's hands were gripping at the snow covered grass, her body threatening to lock up again.

The young woman's mind started racing.

'What if she finds us? What if she doesn't? What if Eddie and Mot end up like Dar-' Teddy's thoughts were cut short when she felt Mot pull her and Eddie out of the bushes.

"Are you two afraid of heights?" Mot asked, taking a few steps back from the two.

"I mean they ain't the best but I can handle em" Teddy whispered out, watching as Mot looked around quickly for a moment.

"I need you two to just close your eyes and don't open em till you feel snow again" Mot quickly explained, another scream was heard from a few miles away.

The two younger individuals stood close together and closed their eyes, fear and anxiety thick in the air.

Teddy felt a slim arm wrap around her waist, her hand shooting out to grip at Eddie's hand. Eddie gripped her hand right back, feeling an arm around his waist as well.

Teddy felt something soft, her other hand grabbing at it when she felt her feet lift off the ground. The sound of wind filled her and Eddie's ears, the feeling of cold air and snow hitting their faces.

As soon as they had been picked up they were placed down, the feeling and sound of snow filling their senses. Teddy still gripped at Eddie's hand when she opened one of her eyes, gripping tighter at the sight of the creature in front of them.

"Eddie" she whispered, "we can open our eyes now" she heard Eddie suck in a breath when he opened his eyes.

In front of them stood Mot, the real Mot, his height easily towering over both of the young adults. His body was covered in soft, feathery down that was the same color as his black, clean cut hair. In the glow from his eyes the pair could see dark grey spots speckled over his face, mimicking the freckles Mot had on his human disguise.

A pair of enormous wings lay folded on his back. They were covered in snowflakes and flurries, just like the rest of his body. Teddy noticed he had two pairs of thin arms, all clawed at the hand. One pair were where arms usually would be, the other came from his waist and lay against his sides.

Eddie broke out of the trance like state he was in from staring at the creature and looked around at their surroundings. They were in a snow covered field, next to a giant iced over lake.

The calm moment was soon interrupted by a scream near the edge of the woods, only around a hundred feet away from the trio. It was the same thing from the motel walkway, her body was heaving as she sucked in air.

Her black, matted hair was windblown and covered in snowflakes from the cold wind. Her claw like fingernails dug into the snow as she slowly crawled towards the trio, eyes locked on Teddy.

Mot turned his back to the pair, his size easily blocking them out of the thing's line of sight.

Teddy reached down to her belt for her park radio, only feeling the empty holster for it. Panic filled her body when she realized she must have dropped it when they were in the air. Every time the thing would step towards them, Mot would push the pair back.

Eddie yanked Teddy back further when the thing got close enough to jump at Mot, knocking him on the snow covered ground and trying to sink her teeth into the bigger creature. The pair watched as the thing dug her claws into Mot's chest, teeth snapping at his face.

Mot eventually kicked the thing off of him, shaking off the snow and dirt once he stumbled to his feet.

Teddy's eyes searched frantically for her radio, it must of gotten buried in the snow somewhere in the field.

Eddie had picked up a rock off the ground and chucked it at the thing, hitting her back as she tried to dig her claws back into Mot.

Teddy's grip on Eddie's hand tightened once again when the thing snapped her head over at the pair, blood covering her chapped lips from biting at Mot.

Eddie started pulling Teddy over to another edge of the forest, the thing now coming after the two young adults.

Teddy felt something graze the back of her ankle before the pair heard a soft thud and a dragging noise. They turned around to see that Mot had snagged the thing by her leg and now had her pinned to the snow covered ground.

Mot looked up at the pair, worry and adrenaline rushing through his body.

The thing below the bigger creature squirmed and kicked, getting a shot at Mot's stomach and pushing him off.

The two creatures rolled in the snow, each getting good hits off of one another. Streaks of red covered the white field. Black, feathery down getting stuck to the thing's claw like fingernails every time she dug them into the bigger creature.

Teddy's panic shot through the roof when she saw the thing had gotten Mot onto the iced over lake.

Eddie felt Teddy's hand slip from his tight grip as she started running around the area they had been placed down on, looking for her radio again.

A loud crack was heard from the lake, then a splash followed by the thing screaming.

The two younger individuals looked up from their place where they were looking for the park radio to see a huge hole in the ice, Mot and the thing had fallen in the water.

Teddy let out a terrified scream before stumbling up from the snow, park radio clutched in hand.

Eddie chased after her and grabbed the young woman at the shoreline of the lake. "Teddy no!" He yelled while holding the woman, she probably didn't hear him though since she kept struggling in his grip.

Teddy let tears fall from her eyes, hiccuping sobs shaking her body as her and Eddie fell on their knees to the snow covered shoreline.

Eddie held the young woman tightly, tears falling down his cheeks as the pair kept their eyes on the broken ice.

Teddy's body felt numb and her head started to hurt, tears just kept falling from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

'This is just like last time. You couldn't save HIM. You couldn't save Mot. She won. You couldn't sa-' her racing thoughts were cut short once again, the feeling of Eddie gently shaking her body and saying her name softly filled her senses.

Looking up from her hands and blinking away tears from her eyes, she looked at the hole in the ice to see bubbles appearing on the surface.

Eddie and Teddy held their breath, expecting the thing to pop up and Point Pleasant's famous cryptid to be dead at the bottom of the lake.

A few more bubbles later, up popped Mot from the freezing cold water.

No giant moth or blood thirsty woman, just plain old Mot.

The older man sucked in air and started to cough up water and blood, hands gripping at the broken ice around the hole.

Teddy felt Eddie let go of her as the two young adults stumbled up and quickly, albeit carefully, made their way over to the older man.

The pair helped Mot out of the water and soon the three were sitting on their knees, Eddie and Teddy crying harder now, on the snow covered shoreline.

Teddy shakily picked up her park radio back up, taking a few deep breaths and calling for help from the ranger station.

Once the call was over she dropped the device back down on the snow, she looked back over at the two men.

Mot looked like hell, to put it lightly.

The older man's black, clean cut hair was soaked and slicked back. His clothes were soaked and dripping, either blood or water was to blame but at this point all that mattered was he was alive.

The younger woman let out a choked laugh and hugged the two men, tears starting to fall again.

Mot's body tensed up but he eventually returned the hug, Eddie rubbed the tears away and hugged the young woman tightly.

The sun over the horizon turned the sky into an array of different colors, the warmth of it falling over the trio.

December 15, 2002

A small town 4 miles from Point Pleasant, West Virginia.

A young man sits in an old Dodge D series pick up, his truck parked in front of a small coffee shop. His eyes were tired, the sun coming in through the window showing off the many freckles spotted across his face.

Pushing up his glasses on his nose, the man unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of his truck.

Walking into the small coffee shop the young man was hit with the smell of fresh coffee and warm bread, an older woman smiled at him from behind the counter. "Welcome back Eddie" her voice was sweet, a thick Appalachian accent clear as day.

Eddie smiled and nodded to the woman, a way to say 'good to see you too ma'am'.

The young man's smile widened when he saw two people sitting at a table near the middle of the room.

An older man sat at one side of the table, his black hair was clean cut and stuck out in different directions with the curls. He wore an old looking college sweatshirt, a pair of grey sweatpants, and a pair of black sunglasses sat on his face.

He belonged here.

On the other side of the table sat a woman, her curly hair pulled into a messy bun on the top of her head. She wore a faded park ranger jacket over a button up blouse, a pair of old jeans, and a coffee cup was held in her hands. She had a bright smile on her face as the older man talked to her.

The woman's smile widened when she caught a glimpse of Eddie walking by the counter, patting a chair at the table once he turned to them.

Eddie sat at the table with the two, drinking his coffee.

Listening and talking to the pair Eddie felt an ocean of relief fill the small coffee shop, they would be ok.

Whatever had happened to them was in the past, it would stick with them forever but they would get through it together.

They were going to be ok.


End file.
